Artistry, craftsmanship and love in every stitch!

Tag: red

For the last many years Bonnie Hunter does a mystery quilt starting right after Thanksgiving and ending at Christmas. I’ve wanted to play along for several years, but this year I did it! I kept up, mostly, until the last week when we welcomed out of town guests (my parents); my washing machine died; I discovered that my 1/4″ seam allowance wasn’t correct; and I needed fabric for the borders and backing. Once the holidays were over, I took out the seams which were incorrect and found a black fabric with a hint of sparkle for the border. Allietare! means to rejoice and I’m thrilled to add this quilt to my collection. Bonnie’s directions were very clear, even down to which direction to press seams, and I didn’t have any bulky seam intersections, which can be difficult for the longarm to go through.

Bonnie’s inspiration photos for the quilt and its color scheme which I mostly followed, were from her trip to Italy. I also took a trip to Italy (as a student), so I chose my memories of the marble in churches and cathedrals as my inspiration for the fabric in the quilt. Many of the fabrics have a bit of metallic shine or luster like the beautiful mosaics I saw. I was so impressed and surprised by the spectacular cathedral in Sienna, Italy, that I still remember it today, many years later. The unique multicolored stonework, inside and out, was a great inspiration for this quilt–it kept me sewing through frustration (at myself) and it inspired me to be accurate and thoughtful in my design choices.. The fabric in the quilt is almost entirely from my stash, and with the exception of the black border. (Un)fortunately, my stash still is too large–I will just have to make more quilts!!

Although I love to custom quilt my own quilts (and clients’ quilts too!). I decided that I wanted to try to do an edge to edge design, but arrange the designs so that it would look like a whole-cloth design. I really liked the Twisted Plumage design by Naomi Hynes. The quilting lets the piecing take a starring role when viewing the quilt top, but the quilting certainly becomes the main event on the back of the quilt.

I finished the outside edge of the quilt with a wavy edge and bound it with a bias binding.

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We had some absolutely stunning palettes to work from over the weekend at Quilt Design a Day. I had gobs of fun designing. The colors reminded me of summers sitting by the pool, but in the shade with sunscreen and a hat, drinking cold drinks–heaven!! I’ve been thinking about making this one. It would be fun to do with Dale Fleming’s 6-minute circle method, which you can find here: http://www.hgtv.com/video/easy-circle-quilt-blocks-video/index.html).

I’d also like to sew the Ocean Waves quilt in the patriotic colors. What a great idea for a July 4 picnic. It would be tons of fun to quilt in the negative space–fireworks, exploding feathers, etc.

Have you ever felt like the “odd bird” out? I know that I sure have, just like the red bird above. However, that is the bird that makes the quilt interesting I think. Celebrate your unique-ness today!!

Did you notice that most of my designs were inspired by things that happen in the summer??!! “Orange Cream sickle”, I loved them as a kid (if truth were to be known, I think I still like them 🙂 ). Enjoy the spring!!

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Spring might be here. After a winter of illness and travel it is wonderful to be at home and design. I’m working on a Quilt Design a Day with these wonderful designers. It is a very useful discipline and I am amazed everyday to see what everyone has done with the inspiration palette and photo.

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I am so excited about SewCalGal‘s Red and White Design Challenge–a red and white quilt has always been on my quilter’s “bucket” list. I was inspired by pictures of mosaic floors and tile work to design these quilts in EQ7. My ‘Rising Star Medallion’ quilt measures 64 1/2″ x 64 1/2″ and requires 5 3/8 yards red and 4 1/8 yards white fabric for the quilt top, 7 1/2 yards fabric for the backing, and 1/2 yard red for the binding. (Whew! that seems like a lot of fabric, EQ7 frequently over estimates the amount of fabric needed. However, I’d much rather overestimate yardage than not have enough, I just add the excess to my stash!). To calculate the fabric needed for backing and binding, I used the calculators found on The Quilter’s Paradise,

The ‘Rising Star Medallion’ quilt features the following blocks from Barbara Brackman’s Blockbase: “The Rising Sun”, Finley #3445, the first border uses the block: “Sonnies Playhouse,” Kansas City Star 1935 #N023, and the third border uses: “Lover’s Knot,” Old Chelsea Station Needlecraft Service/Laura Wheeler #3010.

I designed several quilts with these blocks. Some are more challenging than others to piece, and some have a more modern aesthetic, such as the following which uses the Lover’s Knot block:

Lastly, I designed ‘Sonnies Knot’ quilt as a bed quilt, it is 82 1/2″ x 99 1/2″, and requires the following fabrics: 6 3/8 yards medium red, 1 yard dark red (plus 1/2 yard for the binding), and 6 3/4 yards white. The backing will require 8 1/4 yards (I’m considering red minky for the backing to make it super snugglie).

I really appreciate SewCalGal‘s hosting of the Red and White Challenge, and EQ7 and Island Batik. Batiks are wonderful fabrics to work with when doing precision piecing because their higher thread counts will stand up to the shorter stitch length used in foundation piecing, they are easily pressed, and their bias edges don’t stretch as much as quilting cottons. I am planning several tutorials on precision piecing as the Red and White Challenge progresses to the construction phase. Please look at SewCalGal’s blog for all of the red and white designs.